Trust Your Instincts

-46- Not Cut Out For This

 It was Thursday now. Mark had spent the entire night and morning trying to come up with a solid plan to break Jack out of that house. The good thing was that he knew Jack's location. The bad thing was that he didn't know how long Jack would be able to withstand the torture, if he hadn't succumbed already. It wasn't something worth thinking about at this moment. Mark was rescuing Jack from that god forsaken man, dead or alive. All that stood in his way was his predicament of how he would do so.

 He couldn't interrogate Laurel for three reasons; she might not know anything about her father's intentions, she might catch on that Mark knows and report it to her father, and simply because Mark just couldn't bring himself to face her, despite her ongoing politeness in class. It was all a facade anyway. Mark was convinced.

 He had ben pondering over it for almost half the class now that he didn't even acknowledge Isaac's playful banter and lighthearted conversation starters. Isaac was becoming more and more worried about Jack's whereabouts as the hours went by, but he was next to masterful when it came to hiding his concern, and he assumed that Mark didn't need the added pressure of his friends being worried too.

 "Alright, Mark." Isaac whispered solemnly, "I know you're worried. It's scaring me too, not knowing where Jack is. But you cant spend your days staring into space and ignoring your other friends and your schoolwork." 

 Isaac tugged at Mark's bicep, pulling him out of his daze slightly, and sighing when he realised that, once again, Mark hadn't listened to a single word that came out of his mouth.

 Something was different though. Mark wasn't anxious or worried like he normally was. His face wasn't wracked with the familiar fear of his boyfriend showing up dead somewhere. There was something else, almost like determination flaring up in his eyes. His hands fiddled carelessly with the sleeve of his jumper, as he struggled to fully pull himself from the trance that was engulfing him.

 "Sorry, Isaac. What were you saying?" He asked with an almost forced kindness to his voice, as if Isaac's presence had hindered him in some way.

 Isaac narrowed his emerald green eyes, carefully analysing Mark's face, which looked on at him innocently. Too innocently. If Isaac was gifted with anything, it was the ability to read facial expressions, and Mark's looked guilty, as if he was hiding a secret from him.

 "Wh-what are you keeping from me?" He asked tentatively, watching the cool innocent look that Mark was displaying falter momentarily before returning. Maybe Isaac was talented at reading faces, but anyone could tell that Mark was quickly formulating a lie, his eyes refusing to come into contact with Isaac's at all.

 "What? Nothing!" Mark stammered, all too defensively, if there was any last shred of hope that he could successfully lie his way out of this, it was gone with those two words. His face reddened as he considered what to do, but the more he thought, the more he realised that Isaac could prove to be a genuine asset in breaking Jack out. He was strong, smart, friendly, and handsome. Mark knew he could include him in the plan somehow, when he managed to devise a plan, that is.

 Mark made sure to keep his voice low and steady, cautious not to attract the interest of Laurel, sitting only two rows in front of the two, vigorously scribbling down class notes in her notebook.

 As he began telling Isaac about last night, it was as if Isaac was in an acting class, pulling face after horrified face, but once Mark had finished what he was saying, a slight smirk crept onto Isaac's face, as he started to share his proposed plan. It wasn't exactly of spy level intelligence, but Mark was confident that it would be enough to get Jack out, and if it was enough to do that, then there was no time to waste.

 Mark snatched Isaac's pen from his hand, and threw it forcefully in front of him, watching as it collided with Laurel's head with a hollow ping, and making sure his head was down and doing his own work before she could look behind her to identify the culprit.